Food mold



Sept. 11, 1956 c. P. SIMMONS ETAL- 2,762,319

FOOD MOLD Original Filed March 10, 1947 IN VEN TORS.

Cora l 5/?77/77005 A/afiedJ 5/)27/770/75 ATTO QNEK 2,762,319 PatentedSept. 11, 1956 F001) MOLD Cora P. Simmons and Aldred .l.

Wis.; said Cora P. Simmons vided and this application March 26, 1953,Serial No. 344,772

Simmons, Plymouth, Simmons assignor to said Aldred J.

4 Claims. (Cl. 10719) The present invention relates in general to themolding of food products into desired shapes, and it deals moreparticularly with devices for molding plastic or semisolid foods, suchas oleomargarine, for example, into units of convenient form.

This application is a division of our copending application Serial No.733,514 filed March 10, 1947 and now United States Patent No. 2,642,899,dated June 23, 1953.

There have been molds of the character indicated in the past, of course,but it is the object of the present invention to provide an improvedform of mold which combines the advantages of being easier to use andeasier to clean, yet which is simple in form, rugged and comparativelyinexpensive to construct.

More specifically, it is an object of the invention to provide a moldwhich is conveniently separable into such parts as will make the removalof the molded food products therefrom much easier than has heretoforebeen the case, the shape of these parts also being such as willfacilitate the cleaning thereof.

An important feature of the invention resides in the provision of animproved arrangement for interlocking the parts of the mold. Accordingto this feature an elongated mold divided longitudinally into halves ispro vided with interlocking members whereby the mold is separable onlyby a longitudinal movement of one of the halves with respect to theother.

Another important feature resides in the provision of means for forcingthe halves of the mold laterally apart as one half is movedlongitudinally with respect to the other.

Still another feature resides in the provision of finger grips on theparts which facilitate their separation.

Other objects and features will appear in the course of the followingdescription of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings which form a part of the specification andare to be read in conjunction therewith, and in which like referencenumerals are employed to indicate like parts of the various views,

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a mold constructed according to theinvention,

Fig. 2 is a view partly in elevation and partly in section taken alongthe line 22 of Fig. l in the direction of the arrows,

Fig. 3 is a sectional View taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1 in thedirection of the arrows,

Fig. 4 is a side elevational View corresponding to Fig. l drawn to areduced scale and showing the various parts of the mold partiallyseparated from one another,

Fig. 5 is a top View showing the two side pieces completely separated,and

Fig. 6 is a side elevational view illustrating a mold of slightlymodified construction.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the mold has a pair ofidentical side pieces it) and 11, each comprising a channel which isU-shaped in transverse cross ection. When placed together as shown inthe figures these form a substantially square tube, either end of whichis adapted to fit into a removable bottom-piece 12. Thus assembled, theupturned flange or rim on the bottom-piece fits snugly around the tubeat one end, serving as a band to hold the two halves together.

To further assist in holding them together, interlocking members 14M and11a are provided on the side pieces ill and 11 respectively. The sidepiece 10 and its interlocking members 10a preferably are molded in onepiece from resinous material thereby to form an integral unit, the samebeing true of the opposite side piece 11 and its associated interlockingmembers 11a; each of these units obviously might be made of othermaterial, however, and it will be evident that the individualinterlocking members might be formed separately from their respectiveside pieces and secured thereto in any desired way rather than beingmade integral therewith.

Considering the effect of the interlocking members it will be seen thateven when the bottom piece 12 is removed from the tube the two halves ofthe tube nevertheless cannot be separated by direct lateral movement butonly by moving one half longitudinally relative to the other asindicated by the arrows in Fig. 4. As the halves are movedlongitudinally the interlocking members permit them also to movelaterally a small amount and when in the course of the longitudinalmovement the interlocking members are clear of one another the twohalves then may be entirely separated as shown in Fig. 5.

To reassemble the tube the longitudinal edges of the two channelsections are brought together in such a way that the ends of theindividual sections are staggered with respect to one another; then theyare moved relative to one another in directions opposite to thoseindicaed by the arrows in Fig. 4 until the locking members on therespective channel sections come into abutment. This correctly alignsthe ends of the channel sections and locks them together as previouslyindicated.

In addition to the two sides and the bottom already described, the moldhas a top 14 and, in fixed relationship thereto, four perpendicularpartitions 15 and a knob 16. Preferably, the top, the partitions and theknob are molded in one piece from resinous material but they naturallymay be made in one piece from any other suitable material or they may beformed in separate pieces and secured together in any suitable fashion.The four partitions form a cross as shown in Fig. 3, and their lowerextremities are tapered to form rather blunt knife edges, as shown inFig. 2. The function of this unit, which will be referred to hereinafteras the divider, now will be explained.

Let it be assumed that the housewife has just finished coloring aquantity of oleomargarine, a process which involves kneading thecoloring material into the oleomargarine by hand. Further, let it beassumed that the sides of the mold have been assembled as describedabove and the resultant tube has been inserted in the bottom-piece 12 toform a rectangular container open at the top. The colored oleomargarinewhich is in a plastic condition due to the kneading is introduced intothe container and pressed downwardly with a spoon or other convenienttool to eliminate air pockets in the mass. Then the end of the divideris inserted into the open top of the container and by means of the knob16 it is pressed downwardly so the partitions 15 pass through thematerial, tapered ends first, dividing the mass into four equalsections. During this downward movement the divider is guided by a pairof longitudinal grooves 17 and 18 disposed opposite one another in thesides of the container, which grooves receive the longitudinal edges oftwo of the partitions 1S and prevent the divider from twisting ortilting as it descends,

flhe mold-now is placed in a refrigerator or other cool place until theoleomargarine contained therein becomes 'firm, attention being directedto the fact that the material is wholly enclosed during this period soit cannot take up odors fromnearbyfoods or sutferany of the otheradverse .effects which would be possible if it were uncovered. Whentheoleomargarine has cooled sufficiently to be firm, the mold is tappedslightly to break the bond of the oleomargarine and the interiorsurfaceof the mold or it is allowed tostand in a warm room fora few minutes toinduce surface softening of the oleomargarine for the samepurpose. Thenthe bottom-piece 12 is removed and the'two side pieces are separated bysliding them longitudinally with respect to one another aspreviouslydescribed, whereupon the four oblong blocks or rectangular "stocks" .ofoleomargarine may easily be removed for use. The removal of the'foursticks is facilitated by providing the side pieces with a pronounceddraft, i. e., flaring them as indicated in exaggerated form in Fig. 5.

.During the separation of the side pieces it is most convenient to holdthe mold in a horizontal position With one side-piece down and to removethe other side-piece therefrom by sliding .it'horizontally until it canbe lifted free. This leaves the divider and all four sticks ofoleomargarine resting in the lower side-piece, and permits the 'uppertwo sticks to be lifted from the divider first, after which the lowertwo sticks may be removed when the divider isseparated from the'lowerside piece. If desired, the sticks may be removed from the mold for useonly as needed, the mold being reassembled after each such removal andstored in a cool place with the remaining sticks therein.

To facilitate the sliding of the two valves of the unit longitudinallywith respect to one another for purposes of separatiomknurling isprovided in the form of ribs or grooves20 on the locking members a and11a, whereby the operator may obtain a better grip on the parts. It isimportant that this 'knurling be located as shown, for if it wereshifted laterally to the other side of the locking members it wouldresult .in pressure being applied by the operator at points whichwouldimpair separation by producing a bind between the locking memberscarried on one half of the mold and the side wall of the other half ofthe mold.

Supposing for a moment that the two side pieces of the mold werearranged for separation by a latera'l movement directly away from oneanother instead of by the s'lidinglongitudinal movement described above,it will be apparent that the separation would be made very difficultwhen the mold was full of oleomargarine as the result of a Vacuum beingcreated between the surface of the oleomargarine and the interiorsurface of the mold.

The sliding movement embodied in the present arrangement avoids thisdifiiculty. However, it has been found advantageous to supplement thissliding movement with a very small lateral movement thereby to break thebond between the oleomargarine and the interior wall .of the tmcild; andthe means whereby this is accomplished now will be described.

Referring to the line 19 which separates the two halves of the mold, itwill be seen upon close examination of *Fig. 1 that the upper end ofthis line is situated slightly to the right of the molds center Whilethe lower end is situated slightly to the left of center, theintermediate portion'of the line (i. e., the part hidden behind members'10:: and 1111) being diagonal. In other words, the meeting edges of thetwo side pieces are so inclined that when the side pieces are movedlongitudinally relative to one another as indicated by the arrows inFig. 4 a wedging action takes place which automatically forces the rightand :left-hand walls of the container apart. This lateral movement isvery slight but it is sufiicient to free the side :pieces from theoleomargarine contained in themold, and hence greatly aids in theseparation of the parts.

Although, as shown in Fig. '1 and described above, it preferred to havethe visible portions of the line If) reference to other features andsubcombinations.

the molding of oleomargarine. To the contrary it'jm'ay "be employedequally well to prepare neat rectangular sticks of butter or lard fromthe bulk material, or it may be used in similarfashion to prepareconvenient oblong portions .of .ice cream, frozen vegetables, fruits,cooked foods, ground meats, puddings, pastry dough, flavored orunflavored ice cubes and the like. Some of theseuses may make itdesirable to have a more fluid-tight joint between the two side piecesof the mold, and when such is the case their meeting edges may beprovided with a conventional tongue and groove or lap joint. Italso'iswithin the scope of the invention to provide thepartsof the unit withsupplementary gaskets for a tighter seal, though in the interest ofsimplicity it is preferred to avoid this unless such is necessary for aparticular use of the unit.

Various modifications of the locking members also are contemplated, oneof these being illustrated in Fig. -'6. According to this modificationthe locking member 21a is fixedly positioned on the side piece 21 andthe member 22a'is jfixedly positioned on the side piece 22. The divid-'ing line 23 between the two side pieces is straight and verticalthroughout its length, and the meeting lines'24 and 25 betweentheinterlocking members also are vertical. Thisconstruction holds thetwo halvesof the mold tightly together even in the presence of verygreat lateral stresses tending to separate them, and hence would bepreferable for certain uses of the mold. The two side pieces areseparated by longitudinal sliding movement relative .to one another asdescribed hereinbefore, and it will be noted that the interlockingmembers on the side pieces must be wholly clear of one another beforeany lateral movement of the side pieces is possible.

From the foregoing it will be seen that this invention is one welladapted to attain all of the ends and objects hereinbefore set forthtogether with other advantages which are obvious and which are inherentto the .apparatus.

It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are ofutility and may be employed without This is contemplated by and iswithin the scope of the claims.

"Inasmuch as may possible embodiments of the invention may bemadewithout departing from thescope thereof it is to be understood that allmatter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to beinterpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

1. A molding device comprising a pair of channels U- shaped intransverse cross section, means for .detachably connecting said channelstogether to form a tube open at both ends removable covers for both endsof said tube, one of said covers being smaller than the bore of the tubewhereby it is adapted to enter the tube and said one cover having normalthereto a pair of intersecting ,partitions extending from that cover adistance whereby the :length of the partitions extending from the faceof the cover is less than the inside depth of the tube.

2. A molding device as set forth in claim 1 including grasping meansfixed to'the face of said smaller cover opposite thepartitions extendingtherefrom.

3. A device of the character described comprising an elongated tubedivided longitudinally throughout its entire length to providea pair ofopposing, separable tube forming sections having the longitudinal edgesabutting one another, the abutting edges forming correspondingdividing'lines n the tube wall on opposite sides of the tube, at

least a portion of the length of the dividing lines between saidsections being on a slant with respect to the longitudinal axis of thetube so as to produce in each section a portion of greater width thanthe remaining portion with the wider portion of each section being atopposite ends of the tube whereby longitudinal motion of the widerportion of one section toward the wider portion of the other forces thesections apart and encircling means into which said tube is insertable,said encircling means adapted to encircle said tube closely thereby toprevent said sections from moving apart.

4. A device of the character described as in claim 3 wherein saidencircling means comprises a removable cover for at least one end of thetube, said cover having a rim adapted to closely encircle said tubewhereby to prevent said two sections from moving apart.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS JasperAug. 14, 1877 Scheibler June 7, 1887 Cassell et a1. Sept. 19, 1905 BrownJune 9, 1908 Crist Oct. 15, 1912 Elliott Apr. 9, 1929 Miller July 5,1932 Fisher Mar. 22, 1938 Orange July 22, 1952 Simmons et a1 June 23,1953

